Bay Ragni
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| Bay Ragni | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Bay Ragni Chubby Dudley E.Z. Ryder / Hell Rider |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (179 cm) |
| Billed weight | 285 lbs. |
| Born | Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania |
| Billed from | Dudleyville |
| Trained by | Larry Winters |
| Debut | 1991 |
| Retired | 2003 |
Bay Ragni is an American professional wrestler and former promoter, also known as Chubby Dudley.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Independent Circuit
Ragni trained in Philadelphia under Tri-State Wrestling Alliance stars Larry Winters and Jimmy Jannetty. He debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling, forerunner to Extreme Championship Wrestling, in the early 1990s as E.Z. Ryder, a biker character. He went on to form a tag team known as The Hell Riders with partner H.D. Ryder. The duo could be seen regularly on early ECW TV broadcasts, usually going against The Super Destroyers.
Ragni left ECW in 1993 and briefly toured the Mid-Atlantic independent scene before landing in the Delaware-based East Coast Wrestling Association. His stint was short, but memorable, as he wrestled some solid matches against Cheetah Master before once again hitting the independent circuit.
[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling
Ragni returned to Eastern Championship Wrestling, which had been renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994. In early 1995 he began appearing as Chubby Dudley, an obese, slobbish member of the Dudley family. Ragni rarely wrestled, but would accompany his storyline half-brothers to ringside, normally while holding a cake, Crunchberrier or other snack. If the other members of the Dudley family were incapacitated, Ragni would flee from ringside. He remained in ECW for two years before he was driven out by D-Von Dudley, who had declared war on his half-brothers for not being serious enough, and took a dim view of the comedic antics of Dudleys such as Chubby and Dances With Dudley.
[edit] Liberty All-Star Wrestling
Ragni began promoting in 1994, opening Liberty All-Star Wrestling (L.A.W.) along with "Lucky" Larry Reed and Frank "Super Cody" Cody(Deceased). L.A.W. was based in Chester Heights, with a training academy, Liberty All-Star Wrestling Academy, in Lansdowne. Ragni acted as the commissioner of the promotion, and occasionally refereed and wrestled matches. The promotion closed in May 2002, with Ragni wryly noting that, after seven years as a promoter, he had made a total net profit of $465. Ragni also criticized the Philadelphia Athletic Commission, and what he saw as an oversaturation of wrestling in the region. Despite this, LAW is fondly remembered by Philadelphia-area fans and wrestlers.
Following the closure of L.A.W., Ragni began working backstage with the American Wrestling Federation in New Jersey.
Ragni also hosted Top Rope Radio with Lucky Larry, a radio show that aired on Sunday evenings on WNWR radio in Philadelphia.
[edit] Personal life
- Ragni is married to Jess, with three children.
